(Minghui.org) Because of Falun Dafa (also known as Falun Gong), many practitioners have been endowed with different skills and abilities to clarify the facts about Falun Gong. This is not accidental. It was arranged long ago so that practitioners could fulfill their missions.
I never expected to be able convince people of the goodness of Dafa with my drawing skills. I would like to share how I have used that skill to validate the Fa and save sentient beings in the Fa-rectification period.
Talented at Drawing
I am a self-taught artist. I have liked to draw from the time I was little. I later used my talents to create and draw bulletin boards and posters at school and on the job.
My job often involved promotional activities. One day when my company wanted to display a poster to promote our products, I drew the ad myself. I drew the pictures and the words on the poster. That’s how I got started with ads.
Ads have to take into consideration four elements: the theme, the content, the pictures, and the frame. The quality of the end result also depends on the type of paper and pens that are used and the font that is chosen for the words. The fonts are very specific and have certain requirements.
Becoming a Point of Purchase Drawing Expert
In the beginning I did not place much emphasis on my ability to reproduce the different fonts, because it was very time-consuming. My finished ads were consequently not nearly as good as they could have been.
I then realized that, as a Dafa disciple, I should move beyond the amateur level. I had to do my best. I watched videos and read books to learn different techniques. Master Li, the founder of Falun Gong, also gave me wisdom. I finally learned to reproduce the fonts, I learned the rules of writing, and I learned about color. I discarded things that were weird, exaggerated, or complicated.
With standard fonts, good ideas, and wisdom of a Dafa disciple, my hand-drawn advertisements started to look more professional. Many people liked my bold images and characters and pleasing colors. Several chain drugstore managers have asked me to train their advertising staff.
I do not consider drawing advertisements my career, so I do not charge to pass on my knowledge. I see this as a chance to get to know more people and to have more opportunities to clarify the facts about Falun Gong.
Clarifying the Truth
Because of my expertise, I have frequently helped stores make drawings for their advertisements. This gives me opportunities to chat with people and tell them the facts about Falun Gong.
Most of the time I explain the facts about Dafa as I draw. Strengthened by Dafa, I am usually very creative in this circumstance, and my drawings turn out well. On occasion when my drawing is almost finished but I have not yet fully clarified the truth, I add some decorations to draw out the process until I have said all that needs to be said.
I sometimes do such drawings for stores after work. I consider those who call me to be predestined. They usually find it easy to accept the truth and agree to quit the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
I also frequently teach manufacturing sales persons and tell them the facts at the same time.
Because I do not charge for my services, I am respected and my students are very grateful, which makes it easier for me to advise them to withdraw from the CCP.
I never expected that my ability to draw could help me clarify the truth and save sentient beings!
Three Predestined Individuals
Among those I have clarified the truth to, three young women impressed me the most.
Three women in their 20s came to shop at a pharmacy where I was drawing ads. After watching me draw for a while, they complimented me and asked me to help them.
They were new teachers at a kindergarten in a local suburb. They had come to town on job training, and one of their assignments was to make a point-of-sale advertisement drawing. They had not been given any training and didn’t know how to do it.
I immediately sensed that they were predestined. I said, “I will help you. But let me teach you some key points and skills first. I can also give you some reference material.”
They learned very quickly. They also understood the truth and denounced the CCP. I then gave them a CD containing software to break through internet firewall.
They thanked me repeatedly before they left and invited me to visit them in the future.
They were very lucky and I was happy for them. I was sure that they would realize later that this experience was a turning point in their lives. I can still remember how happy they looked as they waved goodbye.
My Human Notions
People admired me because I was so good at drawing. As time passed, I became attached to fame. My mentality of showing off grew. I would not be happy if no one praised my work. I considered my work to be the best and wanted to show people how good my skills were. I forgot that Master and Dafa gave me that skill to save sentient beings.
I also had attachments to competition and jealousy. I always looked down on other people's skills and judged their products based on my views. I became jealous if people asked someone else to do their drawings.
Even worse, I started to think about using my skill to make a fortune. Although I did not charge a fee, I started accepting gifts for my services, from small items to big ones.
One day I heard a salesman bragging that he could do good point of sale drawings. I had a bad thought to make him look foolish. I pushed him to draw over and over. He was not happy, and I also regretted what I did.
This incident bothered me for days. I was then awakened that I had deviated far from the universe's characteristic of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance.
Removing Attachments
I got very busy, because more and more people asked me for help. My schedule was so busy that many of my office hours and most of my spare time were taken up. It seemed that I lived just to do advertising art.
I did not have time to clarify the truth. When I did it occasionally, the results were not good. I was no longer inspired and didn’t have any energy anymore.
I started to look inwards. To remove the attachments, I sent forth righteous thoughts, asking that the people I had already talked to would not contact me, that those who had learned the skills I had taught would do the work themselves, and that the predestined would come in an orderly fashion.
Since my thoughts were on the Fa, things finally slowed down. Fewer people asked me for my services. People who learned the skills could do their own work. Those who needed my services came.
I felt calm after the attachments were eliminated. I realized that the real reason I did drawings for free for people was to clarify the truth and save sentient beings. I understood that teaching people how to draw is a way to meet those who are predestined and to create a good circumstance in which to clarify the truth.
I am no longer angry at those who were not very good at learning what I taught. I see things from their perspective and understand that we are all at different levels and have different abilities.
I no longer criticize other people's art work. I compliment them on their strengths and point out where they can improve. I encourage them to draw more and write more.
On one occasion, I came across someone writing with a brush pen. I praised his good work, and we started a conversation. He was very resistant when I first explained the facts to him and encouraged him to quit the CCP, but he changed his mind later. Even though he did not denounce the CCP, he no longer supported it.
Conclusion
Our abilities and skills have been bestowed upon us so that we can validate the Fa and save sentient beings. We will be denying our vows if we do not utilize these skills to carry out our missions.
If it were not for Master's compassionate salvation, we would have already been disintegrated by the old forces. We would not have the opportunity to correct ourselves and validate the Fa today.
Master has shouldered enormous hardships for me. Thank you, great Master, for your compassion!
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